Chapter 80: The Fate Between Parent and Child
“Are you really going alone?”
Kang Sunhyuk asked with a frown. It was already the umpteenth time he’d asked the same question. Dohyuk didn’t even bother to respond, as if he didn’t like repeating himself. Director Choi and Lee Seojin were just watching Dohyuk’s reactions carefully.
He hadn’t told them yet that he suspected Chairman Kang Mansik was the culprit. In Kang Sunhyuk’s case, it was obvious that if he told him his mother might have been killed by Kang Mansik, he would rush in without thinking. So he deliberately withheld that information. He only told them that a person suspected to be the culprit had sent a text message from an unknown number, asking Dohyuk to come alone.
At that exact time, an important meeting was scheduled with the representative of Kangsan Construction and the Minister of Road and Transportation. It was unclear whether he had been summoned at that time intentionally or if it was just a coincidence, but Dohyuk had no intention of skipping that meeting. But he couldn’t ignore the situation either, with Yeon being held captive as a threat.
So reluctantly, he approached Kang Sunhyuk and asked him to attend the meeting in his place. The basic framework was already established; it was a session to solve problems related to government and real estate laws. Even if Sunhyuk didn’t know much, Lee Seojin would assist him, and Baek Hyeri would be coming from Kangsan Construction, so there shouldn’t be any major issues.
“You don’t even know who you’re dealing with. And you’re still going without a plan?”
Sunhyuk complained that this wasn’t like Dohyuk at all.
“Are you worried I might die?”
Dohyuk asked in a casual tone.
“Worried? About you? The man who would probably return alive even from hell?”
Sunhyuk made a face of disgust. But immediately afterward, he looked at Dohyuk with a serious expression again.
“If something happens to you, I’m going to have nightmares…”
Dohyuk pretended not to hear his mumbling about feeling uneasy.
“Are you really sure about this, sir?”
Director Choi asked once more for confirmation. Dohyuk gave a barely perceptible nod. After handing over the necessary documents for today’s meeting to Sunhyuk and instructing him to review them before the meeting, he left the Executive Director’s office.
“What about my instructions?”
“All prepared, sir.”
As they walked down the corridor, Director Choi answered without hesitation.
“If I don’t return on time, tell Kang Sunhyuk everything. That bastard needs to be prepared as well.”
Kang Mansik wouldn’t stop with just him. For reasons unknown, judging by his actions so far, he was trying to eliminate all three sons. Kang Dohyuk was simply the first target because he was the most difficult opponent among them. After dealing with Dohyuk, the next target would surely be Kang Sunhyuk.
“But I’ll end this at my level, before it gets that far.”
Dohyuk’s eyes turned cold. At the word “end,” Director Choi swallowed dryly from tension. Talking about an “end” when dealing with his father. He couldn’t bring himself to ask out loud whether that “end” was the worst outcome he was imagining.
***
It was dark all around, making it impossible to gauge the time. Yeon couldn’t tell if it was night or day. He could only guess that quite a long time had passed while he was tied to the chair, as his limbs had gone from numb to completely without sensation.
Yeon took a deep breath. Usually, his trouble was seeing too much, but being in a situation where he couldn’t see anything was quite frustrating. Perhaps because he couldn’t see anything, the feeling of the red thread wrapped around his finger being pulled was more vivid than ever.
Kang Dohyuk would come looking for him. He was certain of that. This thread was strongly pulling him in.
If only it would break.
Kang Mansik had said that Yeon was bait to catch Kang Dohyuk. He had clearly used Yeon as an excuse to lure Dohyuk. And after that? What would happen?
He traced through all the relationships entangled between them. He wanted to understand why Kang Mansik and Kang Dohyuk had such a malevolent connection. He needed to know that to be able to sever that connection.
Besides Kang Dohyuk, Kang Mansik had two more malevolent connections. Considering everything that had happened so far, the three malevolent connections were probably with Kang Dohyuk, Kang Sunhyuk, and Kang Chahyuk.
But why? He’s their father. Even if they all had different mothers, the fact that Kang Mansik was their father remained unchanged. Why would a father try to kill his sons? Just why…
His thoughts went in circles. He couldn’t even imagine a reason why a father would want to kill his sons. Yeon had no parents. From his earliest memories as a child, Yeon had belonged to Muryeong, and instead of parents, there was Muyeong. Even Sana, whom he had grown up with like a sibling, was a stranger with no blood relation.
Though they were strangers, they were precious to Yeon. He had heard many times that Muyeong was using shamans to make money. Dohyuk had sneered about it similarly. Some of Yeon’s clients had also reminded him of this, suggesting that he leave Muryeong.
But even if Muyeong was using the shamans, Yeon didn’t hate him. Even if he was using them, it was also true that Muyeong was protecting them. Though he was said to have received hundreds of millions of won, Yeon had never seen Muyeong living in luxury with that money. That’s why Yeon had never thought about hating Muyeong enough to want to kill him.
Even without blood ties, Muyeong was like a parent to him. That’s why, even while sometimes finding him suspicious, Yeon never denied him.
So why would Kang Mansik deny his own children, who shared his blood?
Basically, it was easy to guess from what he’d heard that Kang Mansik wasn’t the type to embrace his children with love. From the beginning, he was the one who put his three sons, especially Kang Sunhyuk and Kang Dohyuk, in the positions of Executive Director and Managing Director, making them keep each other in check.
Because he hated the idea of one of his sons having more power than himself? That was the only reason he could think of, but it was so absurd that he could only sigh. Kang Mansik was still the Chairman of Dragon Holdings, and no matter how much Kang Dohyuk had control over practical matters, he had no intention of threatening Kang Mansik yet. Someday, yes, someday he might overtake Kang Mansik and take control of Dragon Holdings, but not now.
And if that were the reason, there was even less need to involve Kang Sunhyuk. It was horrifying to think that Kang Mansik might have even killed Kang Sunhyuk’s mother. To kill a woman who loved him without hesitation, just to make his sons fight each other…
He couldn’t understand it, nor did he want to understand. To Yeon, Kang Mansik was nothing more than a monster wearing a human disguise.
When he twisted his body, the chair rattled. He tried to escape somehow, but couldn’t move an inch. His abilities as a shaman were of no help in a situation like this. If only he had learned some self-defense skills. Then he wouldn’t have been captured like this.
His thoughts were a jumbled mess.
When he imagined Kang Mansik stabbing a knife into his heart in front of Dohyuk, his breath caught in his throat. It wasn’t because he feared Kang Mansik. It was because that image was so similar to his last memory from the past life that it sent chills down his spine. If Dohyuk were to see him die, this red thread would remain a malevolent connection in this life too, just as it had been in the previous life. Dohyuk would be broken, just like before.
He wanted to avoid that repetition at all costs…
Gritting his teeth, he moved his body in the darkness. As he thrashed about, the chair toppled to one side, and Yeon fell to the floor with it. His head must have hit something because his skull was ringing, but he didn’t stop. As he twisted his body, he felt the chair move ever so slightly with him.
After a long time of wriggling like that, he finally reached a wall. Desperately moving his hands, he managed to grab something that had fallen on the floor. It felt like a shard of broken glass. His finger stung as it got cut while grabbing it, but this wasn’t the time to worry about such things.
Before Kang Dohyuk arrived here, before Kang Mansik could do anything to him, he had to escape somehow.
Holding the glass shard, he kept scraping at the rope binding him. His palms, softer than the rope, were getting cut up in various places, but Yeon was desperate. After doing this for who knows how long, he felt the rope getting slightly looser. Gritting his teeth harder, he continued scraping at the rope until it suddenly broke, freeing both his hands.
He quickly cut the rope binding his legs as well. He tried to stand, but his legs wobbled, probably from being tied up for so long and having poor circulation. Knowing that if he delayed and someone came, all his efforts would be wasted, he clenched his teeth and forced strength into his legs.
He felt along the wall, moving one step at a time. Something that felt like a switch came into his hand, but he didn’t turn it on. If he turned on the light, someone outside might notice and come in. By now, his eyes had become somewhat accustomed to the darkness, so he could move carefully without much difficulty. Heading toward where light was seeping in, he found a doorknob.
Will it open? Even if it does, is someone guarding it outside? Isn’t there another exit besides the door? He looked around, but the place was completely sealed without even a window. It seemed like some kind of underground storage.
This door was the only way out. Even if there was someone guarding it, Yeon had no choice. He grabbed the handle and took a deep breath. He turned the round doorknob to one side, and with a click, the door gap widened.
Prepared to dash out and somehow run away even if someone was guarding, he opened the door wide. But he froze before taking a single step. Someone was standing right in front of the door.
“So you were here after all.”
At the familiar-sounding voice, he slowly raised his head to see a man looking down at him with a smile. Where had he seen him before? Ah, Kang Chahyuk. They had met only once outside Dohyuk’s office. Why hadn’t he noticed then? That there were two black threads connected to him.
One was clearly connected to Kang Mansik. And the other one… was directed toward Kang Dohyuk.
“Muryeong’s shaman.”
He stared at Yeon as he spoke.
“That’s you, right? The reason Kang Dohyuk stirred up Hovan Gallery.”
Ah, this person is no good. It felt like his vision was turning black with despair. This man was as much a malevolent connection to Kang Dohyuk as Kang Mansik was. He was one of the people Yeon absolutely should not become entangled with.
Unconsciously, he took a step back. There was no need to consider whether it was better to stay in that dark storage or fall into this man’s hands. Both were the worst options.
As Yeon tried to back away, Kang Chahyuk reached out and grabbed Yeon’s arm. Yeon instinctively shook his hand off forcefully. But immediately, Kang Chahyuk grabbed Yeon’s arm again and pulled him closer.
“No need to be wary. I’m here to rescue you.”
At those unexpected words, Yeon’s eyes widened.
